


We Are All Each Others' Keepers

by RosaCalvaria



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Shadowhunter Chronicles - All Media Types
Genre: A pen is forcefully thrown does that count as Violence, Attempt at Humor, Cats, Fluff, Gen, Healthy Relationships, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Parabatai Bond, Rewrite of 2x08, Some angst, implied/referenced PTSD, implied/referenced bad parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-25
Updated: 2017-03-25
Packaged: 2018-10-10 11:20:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10436532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RosaCalvaria/pseuds/RosaCalvaria
Summary: Jace could be awfully perceptive, even though he so rarely addressed what he saw. And this Magnus guy - well, Jace thought he had him all figured out. Powerful warlock, centuries old, enjoyed booze and jewels and breaking hearts. For someone who said what they meant and wore their colors on their sleeves, what more could there possibly be?





	

**Author's Note:**

> ~To be edited!! (again)

All Jace had been trying to do was get some damn work done. It wasn't time-sensitive, nor even all that important; just his standard routine of studying the demon index and adding his own organized notes in the margins. For a society that hunted demons for a living, there sure seemed to be a lot of missing information. _Or_ the agents who wrote all of their manuals had actually never set foot on the field. Either way, it was hardly convenient, and constantly bothered someone as detail-oriented as Jace. Alec called him a nerd because of it, but Jace had been around when Alec was enamoured with Greek verse and decided to try his own hand at writing poetry. It was an interesting time.

Jace knew it wasn't that big of a deal, but he was in a mood and there was a cat rubbing up against him; along with approximately twelve more crying with a particular insistence and stalking around Magnus' rooftop as if they owned the place. Maybe they did. But how was he supposed to appreciate the cool breeze, the heavy fragrance of sweet pea vines, when he was practically being _accosted_ by a lump of orange pillow stuffing? Honestly. He had nothing against animals but cats were probably the most fickle and devious creatures on this planet, barring demons and any type of water fowl. On the topic of _those_ , however, he remained tight-lipped.

_"Magnus!"_

Magnus promptly appeared with all of his typical insouciance, and ignored Jace to coo at the newest addition. Jace should be used to his outfits by now, but he didn’t realize that anyone actually wore those types of ensembles outside of a nightclub environment. It should've been a very weird sight; an ancient, all-powerful warlock casually chattering at cats as if they could understand him, but Jace had gotten to know Magnus a tiny bit better by now. And he had to say it, Magnus was a pretty weird dude.

"I was hoping to run into you here," Jace started, and Magnus' unimpressed look rivalled even Alec's.

"Yes, alright, I can see how from your skewed objectivity, this presents as some sort of power move, but you did literally just call me out here. By my name. In my house. And it most definitely was not your indoor voice,"

"I get how you think that, but, no. This was all very cunning on my part," Jace knew that he was spewing out nonsense, but Magnus seemed the slightest bit miffed. In his experience, irritation worked well to invite honesty to the table, even if it was the unintentional kind. After rolling his eyes, Magnus filled up each fancy ceramic bowl with cream. The short-lived wisps of blue made Jace think of all the times Alec complained when Magnus used his magic for the easiest, most mundane tasks, and he couldn't help but be amused. But alas - right now he was on a mission.

"I spoil them," Magnus sighed with fondness, "I can't help it. It's the only way to win them over,"

"Well, I guess when you put your mind to it, you can win just about anyone over, huh?"

After letting out an overly dramatic huff of annoyance, Magnus began to take him seriously.

"Right to it, then. This is about Alec,"

Of course it was – Raziel knows that the selfless idiot would never make anything about himself, and even if Jace acted like a selfish asshole most of the time, a lot of his life revolved around Alec. At least, it used to. For Jace, his parabatai had always felt like the center of the universe, with Izzy as his first defensive ring of orbit. After the most vitriolic fight in their history, Jace had slowly started to realize how his behaviour looked from Alec’s side, how he would react if Alec had adopted a similar conduct where Magnus was involved. Acknowledging his own dislike (fear) of abandonment, his bond ached when he thought about Alec leaving him behind for a virtual stranger. So when he described whirlwind flings and flaming out, he allowed his voice to include a shadow of the emotion that only ever came out around his siblings. Jace expected to maybe see a crack, a sliver of something that indicated even the potential for ill-intent. Magnus may have brought real happiness to Alec in the first place, but it was dangerously likely that this path would not end in it. Magnus, however, mostly just looked resigned.

"You see, Jace, I know my reputation. In fact, I cultivated it. I know the way most Nephilim perceive me and downworlders in general - all just slaves to our impulses, yes? But what you just described is exactly the _opposite_ of how I feel about Alec. All of that in regards to him is just, _so_ very wrong. I can respect and understand your protectiveness over him, but it's not necessary. You want for him to be safe, and happy, and that's one of the few things we have in common. I'm the last person who would do anything to jeopardize that,"

And Jace....didn't know what to do with that. Despite everything he'd been taught about downworlders, everything he was still fighting to unlearn, there was something that rang so sincere in what Magnus had said. It was odd, because Jace had only ever seen traces of this side of Magnus when he was around Alec. Quieter, with edges less like jagged diamonds, and it seemed as if even the mere topic of Alec had this effect on one of the most formidable downworlders in the state. But maybe this could also be what Magnus compulsively hid under all that power and bravado and colour. Maybe this was what Alec saw that made him fall for the man so fast. Jace was all too familiar with defense mechanisms, and he could vaguely understand how someone like Magnus couldn't afford to be vulnerable. Yet here he was, practically baring his soul to someone he didn't even like, all to prove that his feelings for Alec were anything but trivial.

"Okay," Jace nodded, "Okay. For whatever reason, I think I believe you. But you guys just took the 'next step', and sure, I know shit all about real relationships, I just...isn't it a bit too early for that?"

Magnus looked even more resigned, but for different reasons. Afternoon sunlight bounced off of the array of jewelry in his ears.

"He told you, of course. I didn't think you had that kind of relationship,"

"He didn't have to - we're parabatai," Jace watched with confusion that quickly turned into horror when Magnus' facial features shifted in a way that, if expressed by an average person, would suggest the force-feeding of lemons. 

_"No!_ No, no, just - no. It's not like _that_ , I can just. I can sense that he's happier,"

"Really?" There was a quiet joy in Magnus' tone and a softness to the slant of his eyes, and Jace noticed that the brightness of the day brought an interesting golden hue to them. Then Magnus seemed to catch his self-branded slip up, clearing his throat. 

"Well, feel free to chat Alexander up about it in your own time. I assure you it was all fully consensual, and, well. Sometimes it is good to wait, but for someone who has been so repressed their entire life, sometimes it’s better to dive in and experience some of the things they’ve been deprived of for so long,"

"Alright, wise guy, I get it. But the thing is, we haven't known you for all that long, and I need to know how I'm supposed to just _trust_ you,"

Magnus actually laughed at that, but waved away Jace's indignation before it could manifest.

"Oh, do forgive me, but you must see the irony in all this? I don't make a habit of disparaging parents in front of their children, but you have to understand. Your mother murdered my people right in front of me. Innocents, _children._ Your parents' associates ripped off the horns and wings of my friends, and hung them up as trophies above the fireplace. You four are the heirs of _Maryse and Robert Lightwood_ , and I learned to trust you,"

Jace had known things were bad back then, but he didn't like to think about it. He also didn't understand how Magnus had kept the ice out of his words. What was it with Jace and being continuously disappointed by every parental figure in his life? He wanted to attribute it to shit luck, but he knew in his case it wasn’t really the parents that were the problem. 

"Hell, when you put it that way..." Running a hand through his hair, Jace tried for a smile and found that it wasn't half as hard as he'd expected it to be, "I guess the most I can promise is to do my best, but only if you can promise the same,"

"Done," Magnus smiled his feline smile, no less him than the genuine ones, but. Suffice to say, Jace knew the seriousness was over.

"Also, there better be an open bar tonight,"

Chuckling, Magnus flashed him a grin. The breeze picked up and with it came something intangible yet refreshing.

"Oh trust me, shadowhunter; when it comes to alcohol, I never disappoint,"

Jace returned the grin, picking up his book to continue working, "That's...strangely comforting,"

He thought the conversation was over; after all, Magnus had moved to stand up. But then he turned around and levelled Jace with an unreadable look.

"One last thing. I know we may not be close, but any friend of Alec's is a friend of mine. If you ever want to talk to someone about, oh, you know; life, relationships, childhood...I'm all ears. No judgements or assumptions, or _therapy_ , Lilith forbid,"

"What?" Jace almost barked, shields flying up immediately, deadbolts clicking into place, "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Magnus just smiled and nodded, and it was such a kind look that a subdued, dark part of Jace absolutely loathed it.

"Okay. But one of the few good things about this world is that scars have a habit of reaching out for their brethren. My offer will always stand,"

"I'm not a _victim_ ," The words were spat out with an unquenchable kind of rage, the kind that clawed at you from inside every time the sun started shining too brightly, enough to illuminate without the burn, the kind that poisoned your blood like lead and wept from your pores and infected everything around you if you couldn’t control it. There wasn't a trace of pity from Magnus, though, and Jace considered that perhaps he wasn't the only one who had tasted that rage.

"No," Magnus said, and in that one word he detected something that he couldn’t quite make sense of. The closest thing he could think to compare it to was… _pride_? He didn't know how to begin to comprehend what that meant, "No, you're a survivor," 

Breath catching, Jace looked away because some people were just damaged and no amount of love or support could ever really fix that. But here Magnus was, and he seemed to be alright most of the time. Sure, he'd had centuries, but was there a chance that it wasn't so impossible? Jace was just starting to realize that Magnus might be one of the few people in his life that was truly _good_ , and if he could be that person after whatever it was that he went through, then maybe…? Well, he wasn’t about to get into it. Those thoughts were too big for Jace to entertain in that moment, so they were carefully filed away to look at later. Instead, he looked down at the calluses on his hands that had developed earlier than they should have, and the tiny white scars that did not come from training. Clearing his throat, he willed his voice to remain steady and betray nothing. Maybe things would be easier for him, now, if emptiness was a little more notional.

"Whatever you say, warlock,"

Magnus smiled again, this time with an added lightness, and went to leave Jace in peace. Naturally, that's when Alec popped his head out the doorway.

"Hey, what are you guys doing up here? I heard raised voices and definitely felt some….feelings,"

"Alexander!" Magnus sounded so fucking delighted, even though he had seen his boyfriend just that morning, and Jace hid his smile behind his hand when Alec leaned in to initiate the kiss. He no longer stuttered as much, or stressed out about every minor inconvenience, and he had finally stopped looking around with poorly concealed dread every time he showed Magnus any affection. Jace had fucking hated that look. And that short, chaste, tiny press of lips had literally just lit a spark inside of Jace. For Alec, it must've felt like fireworks. Oh gross, their sappiness was rubbing off on him. (He would never admit it to anyone, not even under duress, but a part of him kind of liked it).

"Wait, I know you Jace. And I know your - your vibes or whatever. Please tell me you did not just do what I think you did,"

Alec had casually walked up to him, but when he started looming, and glaring, Jace knew this was a lost battle. He'd never really been intimidated by anyone, least of all this ten-foot weirdo, but he _also_ knew Alec's 'vibes'. Honestly, what a dork.

"What ever could you mean, brother dear? Are you referring to the winsome conversation me and Magnus just had about how much we care about you?"

That provoked narrowed eyes, and oh joy, there came the signature squint, "I have no doubt that that was the driving force. But _really_ , Jace? I'm your older brother, you're not supposed to be giving people the shovel talk for me! That's just not how it works!"

Jace rolled his eyes so hard that it was almost painful - how the hell could Alec still even _see?_

Please, oh wise one, explain to me exactly 'how it works',"

Sighing, Alec shook his head in defeat. It was something he did on an alarmingly frequent basis in Jace’s company. Alec turned to Magnus and laid a hand against his shoulder, taut muscles clad in burgundy silk.

"I'm sorry, Magnus. You didn't deserve that. I know Jace can be a bit of a handful, but he's really sorry - _right?_ " 

Magnus graciously ignored Jace's snorted 'no', and rested his hand over Alec's, "Oh please. It would take a lot more than a blonde demon-hunting millennial to get rid of me. Plus, no offense, but Izzy scares me more than the both of you combined,"

"No - yeah that’s a good call -"

"So it's a consensus then -"

Alec and Jace agreed simultaneously.

"Also, just so no one here in particular gets any fun, wild ideas; the fight wouldn't last five seconds," 

"Excuse me!" While Jace sputtered to defend his fighting prowess, Alec just grinned because come _on_ , if you had ever heard of Magnus Bane you would know that this argument wasn’t even worth having, "I think I would last at least fifteen. Even thirty on a good day,"

Scratching his goatee in consideration, Magnus hummed and exchanged a look with Alec, "Okay. Fifteen seconds," He paused, as if everything he did wasn't already dramatic enough, " _If_ I gave you a ten second head-start,"

Jace’s indignation might have seemed genuine, but Alec knew him better than anyone and when his grin only grew, Magnus seemed to take that as a sign that he was still in safe territory. Jace wanted to punch those smirks off of their faces, a little bit. Not really. 

"I thought you had work until later, darling?" Alec _did_ still blush, and Jace never stopped finding it hilarious that this grown-ass man, future Head of the Institute, with the best long-range skills New York had ever _seen_ still turned ridiculously pink every time his boyfriend used a pet name.

"Yeah well, this morning when I told mother about the party, she said she couldn't stand to look at me,” Once, Alec would’ve shared that with a rigidity to his shoulders, voice tight and vacant, or he wouldn’t have shared it at all. Was it just because of Magnus, or was it due to the long-denied luxury of absolute candor? Probably a combination, Jace decided, “So, I just decided that this was one of the few orders I would _really enjoy_ following, I guess? I was supposed to have a meeting with her, but um, I might have just...left?"

Clapping his hands once in excitement, Magnus looked positively gleeful, "A better man would feel guilty for corrupting you, but this is just wonderful news," 

Jace noticed how easily Alec laughed now. The sound wasn’t as familiar as it should’ve been, but Jace would rather laugh with him than mourn.

"My little protégée, finally putting on his big boy boots. I'm so proud," Sniffling and rubbing his face for effect, Jace then managed to duck just in time to avoid the pen that was whipped at his head. He glared but his lips were twitching.

"Next time, that'll be a _shuriken_ ," 

"You still use those?" Jace hadn't seen him practice with his ninja stars for years. If this loser was practicing in secret to keep anyone from knowing how deadly he had become with them, Jace was going to fall over.

"Do you really want to find out?"

"Alright!" Again, Magnus clapped his hands, rings clinking, "I believe _that's_ enough testosterone to fuel my Italian Jacuzzi for a fortnight. Drink break, anyone? I feel the need to commemorate Alexander's first rebellion of the day, right before we toast at the second one,"

"Yeah, sounds good. Can you maybe make me something, I don't know, um - not so _sweet_? Not that all your drinks aren't good! They're very, uh, fancy and whatnot. I'm just, you know, not a fan of that much....sugar,"

Magnus pressed a finger to Alec's lips in one elegant move, clearly endeared by anything and everything that could possibly fall out of his boyfriend’s mouth. More blushing ensued. Their skin tones contrasted in such a noticeable, but not unpleasant, way and – why was this something that Jace was noticing? 

"I know just the thing,"

Before they had a chance to leave, Jace couldn't help himself.

"Really, Alec? I would think your tastes were a bit more....fruity,"

Groaning, Alec banged his head against the sliding door, but it got a laugh out of Magnus. At least someone appreciated his wit.

"I'm gay, Jace, not a kid in a candy shop,"

Catching the happy, proud look Magnus sent Alec, Jace had a bizarre thought. Magnus voiced it first.

"Is this the first time you've said that out loud?"

Alec looked confused, and then a bit incredulous. His gaze focused on somewhere over Jace's shoulder, and while the view was spectacular, in that second, Jace didn’t think he was all too interested. Alec’s expression was somewhat comical but Jace sensed that this moment would not be kind to a joke.

"No, no way. It can't be. That would be...just ridiculous, right? Fucking ridiculous..."

Swearing for Alec was such a rare occasion, and very few circumstances brought that kind of profanity out in him. Yeah, that was a red flag.

"Hey, it's okay man. It's not that big of a deal, right Magnus?" He had intentionally handed it off to the other man because of the oncoming anxiety he could sense; who better to soothe that than the person who had made Alec more content than he'd ever been? Jace still struggled, sometimes, with the sting of that. It was nothing so serious as an attack, (Alec couldn't _still_ believe Jace had just coincidentally crawled into his bed every night he’d begun to hyperventilate), and these days they were few and far between. Jace would do everything in his power to keep it that way. Which is why he was pleasantly surprised when he realized no prompting was needed. Magnus had already linked their fingers together, gently tilting Alec's face towards him with the other hand.

"Listen to your parabatai, sweetheart. There's nothing ridiculous about it. You've only been out for a couple of months, yes? And after that Oscar-worthy stunt you pulled at your wedding, it's not as if you’ve really had the need to say the actual words to anyone. However, what you just did right now? ? It means you’re becoming more comfortable with yourself. I’ll admit, I also thought it was cute. And brave," 

Brave? The wedding stunt, okay, _that_ was fucking ballsy. Jace had felt like he was attending his own nuptials. But what he had just said, something so obviously unconscious? What made that so brave? Jace didn't set out to be ignorant, but he decided that maybe there were always going to be some things he'd never fully understand. And if he tried to emulate Alec’s exact experience for the sake of his own understanding, wasn’t that somewhat insulting to the people who had actually struggled with those things? He wasn’t going to pretend, or appropriate an entire community’s suffering just so he could feed his selfish desire to know everything about Alec’s life, even if his only intention was to be a good brother. He figured that for now as long as he tried, supported, and accepted, it would be enough. Plus, there was always the internet. Or Simon, if Jace was in a good mood; it seemed the vampire and mundane culture were one and the same.

"But, like, what does that even _mean_? I just don't, I still shouldn't be-"

"Hush, dearest," This time Magnus put his entire hand over Alec's mouth, "I know it might take you a while to believe me, so for now just trust me. That was brave, and this is one area that I'm very familiar with," 

Alec squinted at him for a moment, and then gave a spectacular eye roll. The hand was removed.

"Alright, whatever you say. I trust you. But, uh....who the hell is Oscar?"

A sigh from Magnus; "I have much to teach you, young padawan. Shall we go inside?"

"Hey! I got that reference. Wow, I didn't know you were such a geek," Jace drawled before Magnus could escort Alec out. The resulting glare was most definitely not something that intimidated Jace.

"No drinks for the house pet, then,"

"What, c'mon!" He sat up quickly, and the papers that he'd forgotten in his lap scattered to the floor, "I promise to forget you ever said that if you make me something alcoholic. Cross my heart,"

Eyeing the heart-crossing motions Jace made with scepticism, Magnus opened his mouth to say something doubtlessly sarcastic, but Alec interrupted him.

"Hey, wait. Magnus _might_ make you a drink," At this Alec paused to get confirmation, and smirked as a result of their silent exchange, "He _might_ make you a drink, if you stay out on this rooftop for….the next half an hour?" Magnus smirked as well, wide and anticipatory.

"Umm, okay? But why the hell do you need me to-" Oh. _Oh,_ "By the Angel, you sly dog! Do you have no shame? Have you any purity left, or are you filled to the brim with lustful fancies? Agh, _just go!_ Leave me here to get flayed alive in this unforgiving sun! I would entrust you with my ashes, but the wind will surely scatter them over the streets of Brooklyn! Just _go,_ old friend! Raziel willing, one day we will meet again!"

Surprisingly, Magnus' shoulders were shaking, and Jace suspected that the dramatics weren’t far off from the kind he himself might have exploited. Unsurprisingly, Alec rolled his eyes _again_.

"How am _I_ the gay one?" Was muttered under his breath, before he turned his back and disappeared inside.

"Well, that’s my cue," Magnus waved sparking fingers, and Jace guessed that the drinks were already being shaken, "Do enjoy,"

"Ditto," Jace saluted him, and Magnus smirked wider in return.

Once they were safely inside, Jace picked up the dropped sheaves and retrieved Alec's thrown pen. Now he _really_ needed to focus on work. Alec wasn't yet very good at....blocking the bond...mid-coitus.

Suddenly, something very pink appeared on the table in front of him, adorned with a fruit kebab and a yellow umbrella. Jace didn't recognize it, until he leaned forward to take a whiff.

It was a fucking Appletini.

But - there was no one around.The sun was really making its presence known at this point, and Jace didn’t feel like transferring all of his work to the shadier corner. At least it had booze, right? What could it hurt?

Twenty minutes later, after he'd finished both his work and his cocktail, he almost laughed at himself when he realized he was absentmindedly chewing on the last impaled cherry. Damn Magnus. Angel help them all, but Jace was starting to think that this ridiculous magic man might really be good for his brother. Possibly, he could even be the elusive, and so very idealistic _'One'_. 

And maybe, there was the smallest chance that Alec wasn't the only Lightwood this warlock had the power to save.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading and for the lovely feedback that I've gotten so far! Who else would die for Magnus Bane and is HYPE for 2B???????? <3
> 
> I'm on tumblr if anyone is interested in burning their eyes out. Since I don't know how to link that, my url is a-tea-infused-mistake.tumblr.com


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